"A high resolution device providing a low resolution video means great quality digital zoom."
Sadly, the lens has to be of great quality in order to get such a fine resolution. Phones are last in line to get lens quality that is good enough for this. The company I used to work for built a video camera that had a pretty darn high res CCD, but it was hampered by the lenses we used. We thought it was so great that we found lenses as cheap as $10 until we doubled the resolution of the CCD and found little improvement.
But... it'll happen some day. Lots of people always working on better smaller lenses.
"So, when do we start seeing phone with camcorder?"
Nokia 3650s have short video recording capabilities. I have an amusing 10 second clip of my dog teasing my cat. Now that 4 gig CF cards are a reality, we may start seeing something more camcorder'ish in the next 2-3 years. Frankly, I think that's pretty darn cool. It sucks how interesting things happen when your video camera is stowed away in the closet.
"Um... I understand designers love those things because they like pretending to draw much more than they like 'mousing' art. Also, those pens have tilt and pressure sensing... mice don't."
I apologize for not communicating clearly. When I said "Mouse stylus" I mean a stylus in the housing of a mouse, not a pen stylus. Sorry, I really should have been more clear. Pen styluses are great for drawing. Heck, I bought a TabletPC just for that and have 0 regrets.
Have a peek here and you'll see what I'm referring to.
"Doesn't having a wired mouse pad kind of defeat the purpose of a wireless mouse?"
Heh. Yep. This really isn't all that exciting. Wacom tablets have had 'mouse' styluses for a while now. I seriously doubt anybody on the planet is using one.
I dunno, maybe if the pad covered my entire desk or something. But, no, even on a 12" surface, it's weird.
"Why is this mod'd as Troll? It's a fair point - you wouldn't pay full whack for a new sofa (couch) that had holes in; no matter how small or far apart they were. Why should this be any different for LCD monitors? If I buy a monitor that advertises a 1600x1200 resolution then I expect every one of the pixels to be working; otherwise the item is defective."
It's a 'good point', but that's not what the topic is about. He was likely modded as troll for bitching about something that has little relation to this topic, not to mention that these folks don't have the power to fix the problem. Getting people riled up for no rational reason is more or less what trolling is.
As for your comment, there are a few things to consider:
1.) That's 1,920,000 individual pixels you want to work perfectly from a source that produces millions of displays. It's hard to do. Life sucks, sorry.
2.) You don't have to buy an LCD display if having one pixel misbehave is a deal breaker.
3.) Most would rather have cheaper displays at the expense of risk of a couple of dead pixels. If everybody decided that it was unacceptable, do you really think a 0 dead pixel standard would suddenly go into effect without costs going higher to maintain that level of quality?
Look, I agree, it sucks that LCDs have that standard. As I mentioned before, life sucks sometimes. However, it wouldn't hurt to be at least a little appreciative of the fact that they can't just snap their fingers and suddenly make it work. Seriously, one could make the same complaint about McDonald's not mass producing burgers that match the image in their commericals.
Sorry to reply to my own post, but I thought I'd elaborate a little bit. I used to work for a company that sold a computer system along with some equipment they built. We hired a professional photographer come in and shoot photos of it in operation. He actually did a double exposure to make the LCD stand out more clearly. Took one shot with all the lights on, LCD off. Then he turned out the lights, turned the LCD on, and exposed the film again. Nice result.:)
"why not make screens with no dead or stuck pixels?"
What a brilliant idea. Let's skip building a new cheaper technology that couldn't possibly have this problem and instead perfect a method that insures that 786,432 pixels are working! Afterall, any engineer who works with prisms for a living is an ideal candidate to switch gears over to LCD production!
I think you'd be a good deal happier if MS didn't prove it. In all seriousness, it's very possible Linux and related software can violate a patent or 3. Before you mod me down consider a few things:
1.) MS holds a lot of patents, valid or not.
2.) It's unlikely that authors of FOSS software run a patent search for every feature they implement.
3.) MS can easily make ready a team of lawyers to make a case out of just about anything.
4.) Linux doesn't have a whole lot to fight back with.
I don't mean this to be insulting, but I seriously doubt Linux is squeaky clean. I in no way mean to imply immoral intent, but there are so many patents and so many lines of code. It would not be good if MS were to attempt to 'prove' it.
"I think we can all say with certainty, that any OS based on latin script, along with (still largely) latin based keyboards and paradigms, which dominates in south east asia, will lead only to a great wailing and a gnashing of teeth."
It does anyway. I've been gnashing my teeth ever since I was forced to type 'man mount'.
"A company announces it will actually fix the product they sold to you if it's in the warranty period. Really, this is the least to be expected from a warranty!"
It's pleasant news to a LOT of people who bought an original Playstation when it came out. Lots of those things had the skipping problem. Sony blamed the customers for using it wrong, and charged $80 to turn a little screw to adjust the speed of the CD-ROM motor until it worked again.
"Perhaps with the polygon count and number of textures cut in half. Because of its design, there is no way that the N64 could ever reproduce those games in their entirety. That is a hard fact. Live with it."
Hard fact, eh? If the N64 were to drop its graphical standards down to the PS's level, it could push about 5 times as many polys. They wouldn't need to cut the textures in half. You really should look at the specs of a machine before making comments about what it can't do and calling them 'hard facts' somebody has to live with.
"How many people out there really have a dual screen setup on their PC?"
Quite a few. Quite a few more would have them if monitors were cheaper. (Notice most vid cards have two ports on the back.)
"Why aren't there dual screen capable console systems?"
Practicality more than anything. Getting two similar monitors together is significantly easier than getting two 27" TV's together that are similar enough to have a good experience with. There's also the problem of consoles being a little suppressed graphically, making it hard to get two attractive images out. I imagine there are synchronization issues as well. A computer can drive a monitor to refresh at a certain time, I'm not sure that RF or RCA inputs on the back of a TV allow for that. Can't say I'm an expert on that topic, but if they can't get the frames to synch on both TVs, they're not going to have a lot of luck getting a game to work without tearing.
". The reason for voice recognition, dual screens and the stylus are hype-based. It is not a PDA nor is it a computer."
Right. It's a game machine. Now it has two new forms of input and on extra form of output. Games are about input and output. It has more to offer. Very simple equation there. Now a portable can reasonably handle FPS and RTS genres. Playing more games is soOOOoo gimmicky.
"So your completely irrelevent point was?"
Well beyond your grasp?
"You, however. said something to the effect that the drive mechanism itself would be hoarding lots of power. The cited example proves your theory incorrect."
What, you mean I have to mention that Sony's stated that you'd get about half the battery time playing a movie than you would playing a game? I thought all the Sony fanboys were aware of that.
"you've just said and how you've been making uninformed assumptions of your own this entire time."
Really? Like what? And how does that compare to your own behaviour in this regard Mr. Gimmick Gimmick Gimmick? "The last sentence in the above section is evidence enough of that."
So.. your assumption is that a Nintendo zealot automatically hates Sony, but that's evidence that I am making uninformed assumptions?
"In any event, your bias is clear."
Uh yeah, I clarified that when I said I was a Nintendo fan boy. Are you trying to deny you're not biased?
"First off, I'm not stuck on my position with the PSP nor Sony "
Bullshit. Whether true or not, nobody's going to believe that statement so long as you shoot down every little point with the dullest of dull reasons, then provide lame justifications for the problems that are brought up in the product you like.
"If the feature sets were reversed, I'd easily be buying the DS."
Despite your assumptions, I'm actually interested in the PSP. I might buy one if a few games come out that I'm interested in. I don't hate the unit it all, but I'm not going to kid myself about its cons. Same with the DS.
"Secondly, are you really that dense or is your memory just bad? If you'd read my first response, you'd see that my stance against playing games for very long periods of time was one of my original remarks and reasons for my acceptance of the PSP's battery life."
Your acceptance? You basically said that everybody else should change to accomo
"FF7, FF8, FF9, MGS. Couldn't be done on N64, even if you could fit them on a cartridge."
Um, actually, yes they could be done if you could fit them on the cartridge. I have NFI why you'd claim otherwise.
" The dual screen capability is nothing more than gimmick."
Really? Then why is it that quite a few people have dual monitor setups? And don't tell me the stylus is a gimmick either, Palm's already proven that to not be true. So has the PC with its mouse.
"Nintendo is notorious for producing crap like this (ie. ROB, Zapper, jogging pad, SNES mouse, Super Scope 6, SFC modem, Virtual Boy, 64DD, etc.)"
They're also responsible for producing crap like the original Game Boy, the Rumble Pack, 4 controller ports on a game system, the analog stick, etc.
"Yeah, nice argument against said technology. Like it or not, MemoryStick has become a standard storage medium that can be bought from any number of manufacturers. They range all the way up to 2GB in size as well."
If two screens and a stylus are a gimmick, then this falls quite neatly into that category as well. At least DS's 'gimmicks' apply to gaming.
"ell that to anyone who uses MD-based portable audio players. They seem to be pretty durable and have good battery life."
And they lack a backlit screen, wireless connectivity, powerful processor, etc. Battery life of an MD doesn't say much here. Partial credit for the MD's durability.
"Your admission of zealotry instantly brands you as a biased buttress for Nintendo with no actual clue as to what you're talking about."
It would be ignorant for you to assume that I don't know what I'm talking about, especially when the purpose of that remark is to somehow discredit me. Boy would you be embarrased to know that one can be a Nintendo zealot without actually hating Sony.
"My statement still stands, anyone who plays for more than 5 hours a day needs to chill (OMG, what ever did people do BEFORE the GB/DS?!). Try reading a book sometime (they're quite entertaining), listen to some music, hold a conversation with the person next to you, draw something, do some creative writing..."
So let me see if I understand this... your solution to the battery problem is to not use the unit you're so adamant about? Sorry bud, this is not a strong rebuttal. That's like saying "My car can only go 100 miles on a tank, but I really should ride a bike anyway." Distraction does not a good rebuttal make. Never mind that nobody ever said anything about playing an entire charge.
"Your remark is rendered even more worthless in a car trip scenario where cigarette lighter adapters can be used."
Actually, no, that doesn't render my remark 'useless' at all. Ponder on the practicality of that for a moment and you'll understand why. If you can't, then don't bother accusing me of being blinded by my biases.
"And instead of suing Google for providing a link to some page that allows one to exploit their site, why not make something more secure?"
Hate to sound like I'm defending them, but they can't. You can't prevent an image from being reposted elsewhere. All it takes is to subscribe to the site and capture the images. They're really in the wrong business if they're facing serious damages because other sites are carrying their images.
I've... researched this topic quite heavily. It'd be very easy for them to generate revenue by these mirror sites. Put their name on the images, assuming they're not doing that already. Why? Because when one spots a pic they like, and they wanna see more from the same series, one needs to know where the images came from.
"The PSP is quite a bit more powerful than the DS,"
It can throw a few more prettier polygons on the screen. That's not a clear indicator that you can do 'more'. Compare the N64 to the original Playstation. The N64 could push prettier polygons, but the Playstation could throw more 'ugly' ones on the screen. About 3x the amount the N64 could. Sadly, niether system was really capable (graphically) of a game that the other couldn't.
" has a larger screen (I don't need a separate screen for maps),"
Funny, if you're ever pushing a button to pull up a map, then yes you'd actually be quite happy to have that second screen. Never mind what the stylus interface on the second screen adds to the mix. Again, not sure why you'd want less here.
"supports MemoryStick"
BFD.
" and uses UMD media that has a higher storage capacity."
The cost of that 'good' is battery life and durability of the machine. Though I'm a Nintendo zealot/fanboy, I'm envious of this simply because I think it'll instantly mean better audio for the PSP. However, for a portable, I'm not impressed with this media. I loves my battery life. I loves my no-load-times. I loves my portable stuff not having moving parts to break.
"Anyone who plays on a handheld gaming system for more than 5 hours at a time, needs to find something else to do."
You realize that comment sounds really stupid to anybody who's ever flown internationally or ridden in a car for 4 days straight driving to WallyWorld?
"How about buying a 4Gig MP3-player and a USB host-capable PDA?"
The main reason being that I want one unit. I don't have a strong demand for a stand-alone Mp3 player. I'm near a computer most of my waking life. I already have need for a PDA. Problem is, it's not a big enough need to a.) have it right now and b.) carry it around enough for it to be useful. But if one unit both carried all my music and did my PDA related stuff, that'd be enough to dump the money into it.
Either way, you're right, $300 is spendy right now. That's why I don't own one yet. In maybe a year or so, the price should come down enough that it becomes an attractive idea. By then, I hope that PDAs have higher resolution screens. (Pity the Clie line is dying, those had an ideal screen for me.)
Okay, I'm just babbling now. Point is I may actually be a PDA owner/user in the next year or so, but that'd kill my desire to be an iPod user/owner.
Slashdot Mirror
"A high resolution device providing a low resolution video means great quality digital zoom."
Sadly, the lens has to be of great quality in order to get such a fine resolution. Phones are last in line to get lens quality that is good enough for this. The company I used to work for built a video camera that had a pretty darn high res CCD, but it was hampered by the lenses we used. We thought it was so great that we found lenses as cheap as $10 until we doubled the resolution of the CCD and found little improvement.
But... it'll happen some day. Lots of people always working on better smaller lenses.
"So, when do we start seeing phone with camcorder?"
Nokia 3650s have short video recording capabilities. I have an amusing 10 second clip of my dog teasing my cat. Now that 4 gig CF cards are a reality, we may start seeing something more camcorder'ish in the next 2-3 years. Frankly, I think that's pretty darn cool. It sucks how interesting things happen when your video camera is stowed away in the closet.
"The critical question is: why? There's no legitimate reason to want WMV."
You're right. Linux is so much better off with fewer capabilities.
"Um... I understand designers love those things because they like pretending to draw much more than they like 'mousing' art. Also, those pens have tilt and pressure sensing... mice don't."
I apologize for not communicating clearly. When I said "Mouse stylus" I mean a stylus in the housing of a mouse, not a pen stylus. Sorry, I really should have been more clear. Pen styluses are great for drawing. Heck, I bought a TabletPC just for that and have 0 regrets.
Have a peek here and you'll see what I'm referring to.
"Doesn't having a wired mouse pad kind of defeat the purpose of a wireless mouse?"
Heh. Yep. This really isn't all that exciting. Wacom tablets have had 'mouse' styluses for a while now. I seriously doubt anybody on the planet is using one.
I dunno, maybe if the pad covered my entire desk or something. But, no, even on a 12" surface, it's weird.
"Why is this mod'd as Troll? It's a fair point - you wouldn't pay full whack for a new sofa (couch) that had holes in; no matter how small or far apart they were. Why should this be any different for LCD monitors? If I buy a monitor that advertises a 1600x1200 resolution then I expect every one of the pixels to be working; otherwise the item is defective."
It's a 'good point', but that's not what the topic is about. He was likely modded as troll for bitching about something that has little relation to this topic, not to mention that these folks don't have the power to fix the problem. Getting people riled up for no rational reason is more or less what trolling is.
As for your comment, there are a few things to consider:
1.) That's 1,920,000 individual pixels you want to work perfectly from a source that produces millions of displays. It's hard to do. Life sucks, sorry.
2.) You don't have to buy an LCD display if having one pixel misbehave is a deal breaker.
3.) Most would rather have cheaper displays at the expense of risk of a couple of dead pixels. If everybody decided that it was unacceptable, do you really think a 0 dead pixel standard would suddenly go into effect without costs going higher to maintain that level of quality?
Look, I agree, it sucks that LCDs have that standard. As I mentioned before, life sucks sometimes. However, it wouldn't hurt to be at least a little appreciative of the fact that they can't just snap their fingers and suddenly make it work. Seriously, one could make the same complaint about McDonald's not mass producing burgers that match the image in their commericals.
Sorry to reply to my own post, but I thought I'd elaborate a little bit. I used to work for a company that sold a computer system along with some equipment they built. We hired a professional photographer come in and shoot photos of it in operation. He actually did a double exposure to make the LCD stand out more clearly. Took one shot with all the lights on, LCD off. Then he turned out the lights, turned the LCD on, and exposed the film again. Nice result. :)
"Looks like they still have some work to do. The picture looks fairly washed out."
To be fair, projected images don't photograph well.
"why not make screens with no dead or stuck pixels?"
What a brilliant idea. Let's skip building a new cheaper technology that couldn't possibly have this problem and instead perfect a method that insures that 786,432 pixels are working! Afterall, any engineer who works with prisms for a living is an ideal candidate to switch gears over to LCD production!
"So, is it a fact or not? Proof it or shut up :-P"
I think you'd be a good deal happier if MS didn't prove it. In all seriousness, it's very possible Linux and related software can violate a patent or 3. Before you mod me down consider a few things:
1.) MS holds a lot of patents, valid or not.
2.) It's unlikely that authors of FOSS software run a patent search for every feature they implement.
3.) MS can easily make ready a team of lawyers to make a case out of just about anything.
4.) Linux doesn't have a whole lot to fight back with.
I don't mean this to be insulting, but I seriously doubt Linux is squeaky clean. I in no way mean to imply immoral intent, but there are so many patents and so many lines of code. It would not be good if MS were to attempt to 'prove' it.
"I think we can all say with certainty, that any OS based on latin script, along with (still largely) latin based keyboards and paradigms, which dominates in south east asia, will lead only to a great wailing and a gnashing of teeth."
It does anyway. I've been gnashing my teeth ever since I was forced to type 'man mount'.
"The primary feat of this machine is the way the hydrogen is stored on board. For that they use sodium borohydride, which is in short supply."
Still, it beats my scooter running on proto-matter...
"So if you're not a pilot, you need not apply."
;)
Not a prob. I'm also an Excel user.
"Name a state. Within a second, I'll tell you the capital of it."
"Wisconsin"
"W."
"...but if you're too tired to work properly, you're okay to DRIVE home?"
Driving home isn't rocket science.
"A company announces it will actually fix the product they sold to you if it's in the warranty period. Really, this is the least to be expected from a warranty!"
It's pleasant news to a LOT of people who bought an original Playstation when it came out. Lots of those things had the skipping problem. Sony blamed the customers for using it wrong, and charged $80 to turn a little screw to adjust the speed of the CD-ROM motor until it worked again.
"If the porn your looking at makes you nauseous... thats REALLY kinky." ... said 'UranusReallyHertz'.
"Perhaps with the polygon count and number of textures cut in half. Because of its design, there is no way that the N64 could ever reproduce those games in their entirety. That is a hard fact. Live with it."
Hard fact, eh? If the N64 were to drop its graphical standards down to the PS's level, it could push about 5 times as many polys. They wouldn't need to cut the textures in half. You really should look at the specs of a machine before making comments about what it can't do and calling them 'hard facts' somebody has to live with.
"How many people out there really have a dual screen setup on their PC?"
Quite a few. Quite a few more would have them if monitors were cheaper. (Notice most vid cards have two ports on the back.)
"Why aren't there dual screen capable console systems?"
Practicality more than anything. Getting two similar monitors together is significantly easier than getting two 27" TV's together that are similar enough to have a good experience with. There's also the problem of consoles being a little suppressed graphically, making it hard to get two attractive images out. I imagine there are synchronization issues as well. A computer can drive a monitor to refresh at a certain time, I'm not sure that RF or RCA inputs on the back of a TV allow for that. Can't say I'm an expert on that topic, but if they can't get the frames to synch on both TVs, they're not going to have a lot of luck getting a game to work without tearing.
". The reason for voice recognition, dual screens and the stylus are hype-based. It is not a PDA nor is it a computer."
Right. It's a game machine. Now it has two new forms of input and on extra form of output. Games are about input and output. It has more to offer. Very simple equation there. Now a portable can reasonably handle FPS and RTS genres. Playing more games is soOOOoo gimmicky.
"So your completely irrelevent point was?"
Well beyond your grasp?
"You, however. said something to the effect that the drive mechanism itself would be hoarding lots of power. The cited example proves your theory incorrect."
What, you mean I have to mention that Sony's stated that you'd get about half the battery time playing a movie than you would playing a game? I thought all the Sony fanboys were aware of that.
"you've just said and how you've been making uninformed assumptions of your own this entire time."
Really? Like what? And how does that compare to your own behaviour in this regard Mr. Gimmick Gimmick Gimmick?
"The last sentence in the above section is evidence enough of that."
So.. your assumption is that a Nintendo zealot automatically hates Sony, but that's evidence that I am making uninformed assumptions?
"In any event, your bias is clear."
Uh yeah, I clarified that when I said I was a Nintendo fan boy. Are you trying to deny you're not biased?
"First off, I'm not stuck on my position with the PSP nor Sony "
Bullshit. Whether true or not, nobody's going to believe that statement so long as you shoot down every little point with the dullest of dull reasons, then provide lame justifications for the problems that are brought up in the product you like.
"If the feature sets were reversed, I'd easily be buying the DS."
Despite your assumptions, I'm actually interested in the PSP. I might buy one if a few games come out that I'm interested in. I don't hate the unit it all, but I'm not going to kid myself about its cons. Same with the DS.
"Secondly, are you really that dense or is your memory just bad? If you'd read my first response, you'd see that my stance against playing games for very long periods of time was one of my original remarks and reasons for my acceptance of the PSP's battery life."
Your acceptance? You basically said that everybody else should change to accomo
"FF7, FF8, FF9, MGS. Couldn't be done on N64, even if you could fit them on a cartridge."
Um, actually, yes they could be done if you could fit them on the cartridge. I have NFI why you'd claim otherwise.
" The dual screen capability is nothing more than gimmick."
Really? Then why is it that quite a few people have dual monitor setups? And don't tell me the stylus is a gimmick either, Palm's already proven that to not be true. So has the PC with its mouse.
"Nintendo is notorious for producing crap like this (ie. ROB, Zapper, jogging pad, SNES mouse, Super Scope 6, SFC modem, Virtual Boy, 64DD, etc.)"
They're also responsible for producing crap like the original Game Boy, the Rumble Pack, 4 controller ports on a game system, the analog stick, etc.
"Yeah, nice argument against said technology. Like it or not, MemoryStick has become a standard storage medium that can be bought from any number of manufacturers. They range all the way up to 2GB in size as well."
If two screens and a stylus are a gimmick, then this falls quite neatly into that category as well. At least DS's 'gimmicks' apply to gaming.
"ell that to anyone who uses MD-based portable audio players. They seem to be pretty durable and have good battery life."
And they lack a backlit screen, wireless connectivity, powerful processor, etc. Battery life of an MD doesn't say much here. Partial credit for the MD's durability.
"Your admission of zealotry instantly brands you as a biased buttress for Nintendo with no actual clue as to what you're talking about."
It would be ignorant for you to assume that I don't know what I'm talking about, especially when the purpose of that remark is to somehow discredit me. Boy would you be embarrased to know that one can be a Nintendo zealot without actually hating Sony.
"My statement still stands, anyone who plays for more than 5 hours a day needs to chill (OMG, what ever did people do BEFORE the GB/DS?!). Try reading a book sometime (they're quite entertaining), listen to some music, hold a conversation with the person next to you, draw something, do some creative writing..."
So let me see if I understand this... your solution to the battery problem is to not use the unit you're so adamant about? Sorry bud, this is not a strong rebuttal. That's like saying "My car can only go 100 miles on a tank, but I really should ride a bike anyway." Distraction does not a good rebuttal make. Never mind that nobody ever said anything about playing an entire charge.
"Your remark is rendered even more worthless in a car trip scenario where cigarette lighter adapters can be used."
Actually, no, that doesn't render my remark 'useless' at all. Ponder on the practicality of that for a moment and you'll understand why. If you can't, then don't bother accusing me of being blinded by my biases.
"And instead of suing Google for providing a link to some page that allows one to exploit their site, why not make something more secure?"
... researched this topic quite heavily. It'd be very easy for them to generate revenue by these mirror sites. Put their name on the images, assuming they're not doing that already. Why? Because when one spots a pic they like, and they wanna see more from the same series, one needs to know where the images came from.
:P
Hate to sound like I'm defending them, but they can't. You can't prevent an image from being reposted elsewhere. All it takes is to subscribe to the site and capture the images. They're really in the wrong business if they're facing serious damages because other sites are carrying their images.
I've
There's opportunity everywhere.
" Turn the TV off, give a kid a couple of plastic bags and a ball of yarn and watch them create stuff. "
Like a rebellious teenager?
"The PSP is quite a bit more powerful than the DS,"
It can throw a few more prettier polygons on the screen. That's not a clear indicator that you can do 'more'. Compare the N64 to the original Playstation. The N64 could push prettier polygons, but the Playstation could throw more 'ugly' ones on the screen. About 3x the amount the N64 could. Sadly, niether system was really capable (graphically) of a game that the other couldn't.
" has a larger screen (I don't need a separate screen for maps),"
Funny, if you're ever pushing a button to pull up a map, then yes you'd actually be quite happy to have that second screen. Never mind what the stylus interface on the second screen adds to the mix. Again, not sure why you'd want less here.
"supports MemoryStick"
BFD.
" and uses UMD media that has a higher storage capacity."
The cost of that 'good' is battery life and durability of the machine. Though I'm a Nintendo zealot/fanboy, I'm envious of this simply because I think it'll instantly mean better audio for the PSP. However, for a portable, I'm not impressed with this media. I loves my battery life. I loves my no-load-times. I loves my portable stuff not having moving parts to break.
"Anyone who plays on a handheld gaming system for more than 5 hours at a time, needs to find something else to do."
You realize that comment sounds really stupid to anybody who's ever flown internationally or ridden in a car for 4 days straight driving to WallyWorld?
"yeah, the psp won't have the second screen. which is why i won't be getting a ds."
Kind of funny. If I were paying more for a product, I wouldn't anxiously accept less.
"When Sony PSP comes out it will crush the DS, it's obvious."
No, it's not. The PSP doesn't have everything the DS has. It'll be a while before anything becomes 'obvious'.
"How about buying a 4Gig MP3-player and a USB host-capable PDA?"
The main reason being that I want one unit. I don't have a strong demand for a stand-alone Mp3 player. I'm near a computer most of my waking life. I already have need for a PDA. Problem is, it's not a big enough need to a.) have it right now and b.) carry it around enough for it to be useful. But if one unit both carried all my music and did my PDA related stuff, that'd be enough to dump the money into it.
Either way, you're right, $300 is spendy right now. That's why I don't own one yet. In maybe a year or so, the price should come down enough that it becomes an attractive idea. By then, I hope that PDAs have higher resolution screens. (Pity the Clie line is dying, those had an ideal screen for me.)
Okay, I'm just babbling now. Point is I may actually be a PDA owner/user in the next year or so, but that'd kill my desire to be an iPod user/owner.